Ask for Advice, Not Feedback.

At the start of my career, I assumed asking for feedback was crucial because this is how we learn and grow. But according to research from Harvard Business School, feedback has little impact on our performance and sometimes it can actually negatively impact us. Why is feedback so ineffective, so you may ask yourself. The main reason is because looking back is not conducive to growth. It essentially keeps us on the same hamster wheel, so to speak. How can we grow by only making minor changes to our future behaviors or decisions; we cannot. When someone gives you feedback, it essentially anchors you deeper into your past behaviors and perpetuates the same results with minor alterations. When we ask for feedback, we tend to focus on adjusting small tweaks, but overall getting the same outcome. Asking for advice casts a much wider net. This allows for so many more possible scenarios of how you can improve and alter your behaviors and decisions for a better outcome. Of course, when you’re in the beginning of your career, it’s good to know where you went wrong or what’s lacking in your performance. But what’s more important is knowing how it can be made better and improved by changing your behavior. Focus on asking for advice instead of feedback and to get the best advice, use these tips.

⦁ Specify the type of advice you are seeking.

⦁ Be sure you’re asking advice from the right person.

⦁ If you ask for advice and you feel their answer is too broad, dig deeper. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarity or more individualized advice.

⦁ Focus on the areas of which you want to improve.